Raj Vidya - Swami Prabhupaad

8/8/2019 Raj Vidya - Swami Prabhupaad

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Chapter One

Rja-Vidy: The King of Knowledge

r bhagavn uvcaida tu te guhyatama

pravakymy anasyavejna vijna-sahita

yaj jtv mokyase ubht

The Supreme Lord said: My dear Arjuna, because you arenever envious of Me, I shall impart to you this most secret

wisdom, knowing which you shall be relieved of themiseries of material existence. (Bg. 9.1)

The opening words of the Ninth Chapter ofBhagavad-gt indicate that the Supreme Godhead is speaking. Herer Ka is referred to as Bhagavn. Bhaga meansopulences, and vn means one who possesses. We havesome conception of God, but in the Vedic literature thereare definite descriptions and definitions of what is meant

by God, and what is meant is described in one wordBhagavn. Bhagavn possesses all opulences, the totalityof knowledge, wealth, power, beauty, fame andrenunciation. When we find someone who possesses theseopulences in full, we are to know that he is God. There aremany rich, wise, famous, beautiful and powerful men, butno one man can claim to possess all of these opulences.Only Ka claims to possess them in totality.

bhoktra yaja-tapassarva-loka-mahevaram

suhda sarva-bhtnjtv m ntim cchati

The sages, knowing Me as the ultimate purpose of allsacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planetsand demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of allliving entities, attain peace from the pangs of materialmiseries. (Bg. 5.29)

Here Ka proclaims that He is the enjoyer of allactivities and the proprietor of all planets (sarva-loka-


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mahevaram). An individual may possess a large tract ofland, and he may be proud of his ownership, but Kaclaims to possess all planetary systems. Ka alsoclaims to be the friend of all living entities (suhdasarva-bhtnm). When a person understands that God isthe proprietor of everything, the friend of everyone and the

enjoyer of all, he becomes very peaceful. This is the actualpeace formula. No one can have peace as long as he thinks,I am the proprietor. Who is capable of claimingproprietorship? Only a few hundred years ago the redIndians were considered to be the proprietors of America.Today we in our turn are claiming that proprietorship, butin four hundred or a thousand years perhaps someone else

will come to claim the same. The land is here, and we comehere and falsely claim ourselves to be proprietors of it.

This philosophy of false proprietorship is not in line with Vedic injunctions.r opaniadstates that everythinganimate or inanimate that is within the universe iscontrolled and owned by the Lord (vsyam idasarva). The truth of this statement is factual, but underillusion we are thinking that we are the proprietors. Inactuality God owns everything, and therefore He is calledthe richest.

Of course there are many men who claim to be God. InIndia, for instance, at any time, one has no difficulty infinding at least one dozen people claiming to be God. But if

you ask them if they are the proprietor of everything, theyfind this difficult to answer. This is a criterion by which wecan understand who God is. God is the proprietor ofeverything, and, being so, He must be more powerful thananyone or anything else. When Ka was personallypresent on this earth, no one could conquer Him. There isno record of His ever having lost a battle. He belonged toa katriya (warrior) family, and the katriyas are meant

to give protection to the weak. As far as His opulence isconcerned, He married 16,108 wives. Every wife had herown separate palace, and Ka expanded Himself16,108 times in order to enjoy them all. This may seemdifficult to believe, but it is stated in rmad-Bhgavatam, and the great sages of India recognize thisas scripture and recognize Ka as God.


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In the first verse of this Ninth Chapter, by the

word guhyatamam, r Ka intimates that He isimparting the most confidential knowledge to Arjuna. Whyis He proclaiming this to Arjuna? It is because Arjunais anasyunon-envious. In the material world ifsomeone is greater than us, we are envious. We are not

only envious of one another, but of God. Also whenKa says, I am the proprietor, we disbelieve it. Butthis is not the case with Arjuna, who listens to Ka

without envy. Arjuna does not cavil with Ka butagrees with whatever He says. This is his specialqualification, and this is the way ofunderstanding Bhagavad-gt. It is not possible tounderstand what God is by our own mental speculations;

we have to hear, and we have to accept.

Because Arjuna is not envious, Ka speaks thisspecial knowledge to him. This is not only theoreticalknowledge but practical knowledge (vijna-sahitam).

Whatever knowledge we receive fromBhagavad-gt should not be taken for sentimentality or fanaticism.The knowledge is bothjna and vijna, theoretical

wisdom and scientific knowledge. If one becomes well-versed in this knowledge, liberation is certain. Life in thismaterial world is by nature inauspicious andmiserable.Moka means liberation, and the promise isthat by dint of understanding this knowledge one willattain liberation from all miseries. It is important then tounderstand what Ka says about this knowledge.

rja-vidy rja-guhyapavitram idam uttamam

pratyakvagama dharmyasu-sukha kartum avyayam

This knowledge is the king of education, the most secret

of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because itgives direct perception of the self by realization, it is theperfection of religion. It is everlasting, and it is joyfullyperformed. (Bg. 9.2)

According toBhagavad-gt, the topmost knowledge(rja-vidy rja-guhyam) is Ka consciousness


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because inBhagavad-gt we find that the symptom ofone who is actually in knowledge is that he hassurrendered unto Ka. As long as we go on speculatingabout God but do not surrender, it is understood that wehave not attained the perfection of knowledge. Theperfection of knowledge is:

bahn janmanm antejnavn m prapadyate

vsudeva sarvam itisa mahtm sudurlabha

After many births and deaths, he who is actually inknowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be thecause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is veryrare. (Bg. 7.19)

As long as we do not surrender, we cannot understandGod. Surrender to God may take many births, but if weaccept that God is great, it is possible to surrender untoHim immediately. But generally this is not our position inthe material world. We are characteristically envious andconsequently think, Oh, why should I surrender untoGod? I am independent. I shall work independently.Therefore in order to rectify this misgiving, we have to

work for many births. In this regard, the name of Ka

is especially significant.K

means repetition of birth,anda means one who checks. Our repetition of birthcan be checked only by God. No one can check hisrepetition of birth and death without the causeless mercyof God.

The subject matter of the Ninth Chapter is rja-vidy.Rja means king, and vidy means knowledge. Inordinary life we find one person king in one subject andanother in another subject. This knowledge, however, is

sovereign over all others, and all other knowledge issubject or relative to it. The word rja-guhyam indicatesthat this sovereign knowledge is very confidential, and the

wordpavitram means that it is very pure. This knowledgeis also uttamam; udmeans transcend, and tama meansdarkness, and that knowledge which surpasses this

world and the knowledge of this world iscalled uttamam. It is the knowledge of light, and darkness


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has been separated from it. If one follows this path ofknowledge, he will personally understand how far he hasprogressed down the path of perfection(pratyakvagama dharmyam). Su-sukhakartum indicates that this knowledge is very happy and

joyful to execute. Andavyayamindicates that this

knowledge is permanent. We may work in this material world for education or riches, but these things arenot avyayam,for as soon as this body is finished,everything else is also finished. With death, our education,advanced degrees, bank balances, familyeverythingareall finished. Whatever were doing in this material world isnot eternal. However, this knowledge is not like that.

nehbhikrama-no stipratyavyo na vidyate

svalpam apy asya dharmasyatryate mahato bhayt

In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and alittle advancement on this path can protect one from themost dangerous type of fear. (Bg. 2.40)

Knowledge in Ka consciousness is so perfect that ifone performs work in Ka consciousness and yet doesnot attain perfection, in his next life he takes up from

wherever he left off. In other words, actions performed inKa consciousness are durable. On the other hand,material achievements, because they pertain to the body,are vanquished at death. Knowledge that pertains todesignations does not endure. I am thinking that I am aman or a woman, an American or Indian, a Christian orHinduthese are all designations pertaining to the body,and when the body is finished, they will also be finished.

We are actually spirit, and therefore our spiritual activitieswill go with us wherever we go.

r Ka indicates that this king of knowledge is alsohappily performed. We can easily see that activities inKa consciousness are joyfully done. There is chantingand dancing, eatingprasdam (food that has been offeredto Ka) and discussing Bhagavad-gt. These are themain processes. There are no stringent rules andregulations that we have to sit so straight for so long or do


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so many gymnastics, or control our breath. No, the processis very easily and happily done. Everyone wants to dance,to sing, to eat and to hear the truth. This process istrulysusukhamvery happy.

In the material world there are so many gradations of

education. Some people never finish grammar school orhigh school, whereas others go on and receive a universityeducation, a BA, MA, PhD, and so on. But what isthis rja-vidy, the king of education, the summumbonum of knowledge? It is this Ka consciousness.Real knowledge is understanding what I am. Unless wecome to the point of understanding what we are, wecannot attain real knowledge. When Santana Gosvmleft his government post and came to CaitanyaMahprabhu for the first time, he asked the Lord, What is

education? Although Santana Gosvm knew a numberof languages, including Sanskrit, he still inquired aboutreal education. The general populace calls me highlyeducated, Santana Gosvm told the Lord, and I amsuch a fool that I actually believe them.

The Lord replied, Why should you not think youre well educated? Youre a great scholar in Sanskrit andPersian.

That may be, Santana Gosvm said, but I do not

know what I am. He then went on to tell the Lord: I donot wish to suffer, but these material miseries are forcedupon me. I neither know where Ive come from nor whereIm going, but people are calling me educated. When theycall me a great scholar, I am satisfied, but in truth I amsuch a great fool that I know not what I am. SantanaGosvm was actually speaking for all of us, for this is ourpresent situation. We may be proud of our academiceducation, but if asked what we are, we are not able to say.

Everyone is under the conception that this body is the self, but we learn from Vedic sources that this is not so. Onlyafter realizing that we are not these bodies can we enterinto real knowledge and understand what we actually are.This then, is the beginning of knowledge.

Rja-vidy may be further defined as not only knowingwhat one is, but acting accordingly. If we do not know who


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we are, how can our activities be proper? If we aremistaken about our identity, we will also be mistakenabout our activities. Simply knowing that we are not thesematerial bodies is not sufficient; we must act according tothe conviction that we are spiritual. Action based on thisknowledgespiritual activityis work in Ka

consciousness. This kind of knowledge may not seem to beso easily attainable, but it is made very easy by the mercyof Ka and Lord Caitanya Mahprabhu who made thisknowledge easily available through the process of chantingHare Ka, Hare Ka, Ka Ka, Hare Hare/Hare Rma, Hare Rma, Rma Rma, Hare Hare.

Caitanya Mahprabhu divided the living entities intotwo major categories: those that are moving and those thatare not moving. Trees, grass, plants, stones, etc., do not

move because they do not have sufficiently developedconsciousness. Their consciousness is there, but iscovered. If a living being does not understand his position,he is stonelike, although dwelling in a human body. Theliving entitiesbirds, reptiles, animals, insects, human

beings, demigods, etc.number over 8,000,000 species,and of these a very small number are human beings. LordCaitanya further points out that out of 400,000 species ofhuman beings, some are civilized; and out of manycivilized persons, there are only a few who are devoted tothe scriptures.

In the present day most people claim to be devoted tosome religionChristian, Hindu, Moslem, Buddhist, etc.

but in fact they do not really believe in the scriptures.Those who do believe in the scriptures are, by and large,attached to pious philanthropic activities. They believethat religion means yaja (sacrifice), dna (charity)and tapas (penance). One who engagesin tapasya undertakes voluntarily very rigid regulations,

such as brahmacrstudents (celibates)or sannyss (renounced order) undertake. Charity means

voluntarily giving away ones material possessions. In thepresent age there is no sacrifice, but from historicalliteratures like theMahbhrata we get information thatkings performed sacrifices by distributing rubies, gold andsilver. Yaja was primarily for kings, and charity, on a


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much smaller scale, was meant for householders. Those

who actually believed in scriptures usually adopted someof these principles. But generally in this age people simplysay that they belong to a religion but in actuality donothing. Out of millions of such people, a very smallnumber actually perform charity, sacrifice and penance.

Caitanya Mahprabhu further points out that out ofmillions who perform such religious principles all over theuniverse, only a few attain perfect knowledge andunderstand what they are.

Just knowing I am not this body but am spirit soul isnot sufficient. We have to escape this entanglement ofmaterial nature. This is called mukti, liberation. Out ofmany thousands of persons who are in self-knowledge asto what and who they are, only one or two may be actually

liberated. And out of many thousands who are liberated,only one or two may understand what and who Ka is.So understanding Ka is not such an easy job. Thus inthis age of Kali, an age characterized by ignorance andchaos, liberation is out of the reach of practically everyone.One has to go through the whole ordeal of becomingcivilized, then religious, and then one has to performcharities and sacrifices and come to the platform ofknowledge, then to the stage of liberation, and finally, afterliberation, to the understanding of what Ka is. Thisprocess is also indicated in Bhagavad-gt:

brahma-bhta prasanntmna ocati na kkati

sama sarveu bhteumad-bhakti labhate parm

One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizesthe Supreme Brahman. He never laments or desires tohave anything; he is equally disposed to every living entity.

In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me.(Bg. 18.54)

These are the signs of liberation. The first symptom ofone who is liberated is that he is very happy. It is notpossible to find him morose. Nor does he have any anxiety.He never frets, This thing I dont have. Oh, I must securethis thing. Oh, this bill I have to pay. I have to go here,


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there. One who is liberated has no anxieties at all. He may

be the poorest man in the world, but he neither lamentsnor thinks that he is poor. Why should he think that he ispoor? When we think that we are these material bodiesand that we have possessions to go with them, then wethink that we are poor or rich, but one who is liberated

from the material conception of life has nothing to do withpossessions or lack of possessions. I have nothing to loseand nothing to gain, he thinks. I am completely separatefrom all this. Nor does he see anyone else as rich or poor,educated or uneducated, beautiful or ugly, etc. He does notsee any material dualities, for his vision is completely onthe spiritual platform, and he sees that every living entityis part and parcel of Ka. Thus seeing all entities intheir true identity, he tries to take them back to Kaconsciousness. His viewpoint is that everyonewhether he

be brhmaa or dra, black or white, Hindu, Christian,or whatevershould come to Ka consciousness.

When one is situated in this way, then:mad-bhaktilabhate parm [Bg. 18.54]he becomes eligible for

becoming a pure devotee of Kas.

Practically speaking, this process is not very easy in thisage of Kali. In rmad-Bhgavatam a description is givenof the people of this age. Their duration of life is said to be

very short, they tend to be phlegmatic and slow and tosleep a great deal, and when theyre not sleeping, they are

busy earning money. At the most they only have two hoursa day for spiritual activities, so what is the hope forspiritual understanding? It is also stated that even if one isanxious to make spiritual progress, there are manypseudo-spiritual societies to take advantage of him. Peopleare also characterized in this age as being unfortunate.They have a great deal of difficulty meeting the primarydemands of lifeeating, defending, mating, and sleeping

necessities which are met even by the animals. Even ifpeople are meeting these necessities in this age, they arealways anxious about war, either defending themselvesfrom aggressors or having to go to war themselves. Inaddition to this, there are always disturbing diseases andeconomic problems in Kali-yuga. Therefore Lord rKa considered that in this age it is impossible for


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people to come to the perfectional stage of liberation byfollowing the prescribed rules and regulations.

Thus out of His causeless mercy, r Ka came asLord Caitanya Mahprabhu and distributed the means tothe highest perfection of life and spiritual ecstasy by the

chanting of Hare K

a, Hare K

a, K

a K

a,Hare Hare/ Hare Rma, Hare Rma, Rma Rma, HareHare. This process of chanting is most practical, and itdoes not depend on whether one is liberated or not, or

whether ones condition is conducive to spiritual life ornotwhoever takes to this process becomes immediatelypurified. Therefore it is calledpavitram (pure).Furthermore, for one who takes to this Kaconsciousness process, the seeds of latent reactions to hissinful actions are all nullified. just as a fire turns whatever

we put into it to ashes, this process turns to ashes all thesinful reactions of our past lives.

We must understand that our suffering is due to oursinful activity, and sinful activity is due to our ignorance.Sins, or transgressions, are committed by those who donot know what is what. A child, for instance, will naivelyput his hand in a fire because of ignorance. He is thus

burned immediately, for the fire is impartial and does notallow any special consideration for the innocent child. It

will simply act as fire. Similarly, we do not know how thismaterial world is functioning, who its controller is, norhow it is controlled, and due to our ignorance we act infoolish ways, but nature is so stringent that she does notallow us to escape the reactions to our actions. Whether wecommit an act knowingly or unknowingly, the reactionsand consequent sufferings are there. However, throughknowledge we can understand what the actual situation is,

who God is, and what our relationship with Him is.

This knowledge by which we can gain release fromsuffering is possible in the human form of life, not in theanimal form. To give us knowledge, to give us properdirection, there are scriptures written in various languagesin all parts of the world. Lord Caitanya Mahprabhupointed out that people are forgetful from timeimmemorial about their relationship with the Supreme


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Lord; therefore Ka has sent so many representativesto impart the scriptures to man. We should take advantageof these, especially ofBhagavad-gt, which is the primescripture for the modern world.

Chapter Two

Knowledge Beyond Sasra

Ka specifically states that this process ofKa consciousness is susukham, very pleasant andeasy to practice. Indeed, the devotional process is verypleasant; we melodiously sing with instruments, andsomeone will listen and also join (ravaakrtanam). Of course the music should be in relation

with the Supreme Lord, in glorification of Him.HearingBhagavad-gt is also part of devotionalservice, and in addition to hearing it one should beeager to apply it in his life. Ka consciousness is ascience and should not be accepted blindly. There arenine processes of devotional service recommended(hearing, chanting, remembering, worshiping, praying,serving, engaging as a servitor of the Lord, establishing

friendly relations with the Lord, offering everything tothe Lord). These are all easy to practice and should bejoyfully performed.

Of course if one thinks that Bhagavad-gt and theHare Ka mantra are part of the Hindu systemand doesnt want to accept them because of this, he cannonetheless attend the Christian church and singthere. There is no difference between this process andthat process; the point is whatever process one follows,

he must become God conscious. God is neither Moslemnor Hindu nor ChristianHe is God. Nor are we to beconsidered Hindu, Moslem or Christian. These are

bodily designations. We are all pure spirit, part andparcel of the Supreme. God ispavitram, pure, and weare also pure. Somehow or other, however, we havefallen into this material ocean, and as the waves toss,


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we suffer. Actually we have nothing to do with thetossing waves of material miseries. We must simplypray, Ka, please pick me up. As soon as weforget Ka, the ocean of illusion is there, and it atonce captures us. The chanting of Hare Ka is mostimportant in order to escape from this ocean. Hare

Ka, Hare Ka, Ka Ka, Hare Hare/Hare Rma, Hare Rma, Rma Rma, Hare Hare is asound (abda) that is non-different from Ka. Thesound Ka and the original Ka are the same.

When we chant Hare Ka and dance, Ka isalso dancing with us. Of course we may say, Well, I donot see Him, but why do we put so much stress onseeing? Why not hearing? Seeing, tasting, smelling,touching, and hearing are all instruments for

experience and knowledge. Why do we put suchexclusive stress on seeing? A devotee does not wish tosee Ka; he is satisfied by simply hearing ofKa. Seeing may eventually be there, but hearingshould not be considered any less important. There arethings which we hear but do not seethe wind may be

whistling past our ears, and we can hear it, but there isno possibility of seeing the wind. Since hearing is noless an important experience or valid one than seeing,

we can hear Ka and realize His presence through

sound. r Ka Himself says, I am not there in Myabode, or in the heart of the meditating yogbut wheremy pure devotees are singing. We can feel thepresence of Ka as we actually make progress.

It is not that we should simply take things fromKa and offer Him nothing. Everyone is takingsomething from God, so why not give something? Weare taking from Ka so much light, air, food, waterand so on. Unless these resources are supplied by

Ka, no one can live. Is it love to simply keeptaking and taking and taking without ever offeringanything in return? Love means taking and giving also.If we just take from someone and give him nothing inreturn, that is not loveit is exploitation. It is not that

we should just continue eating without ever offeringanything to Ka. InBhagavad-gt Ka says:


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patra pupa phala toya

yo me bhakty prayacchatitad aha bhakty-upahtam

anmi prayattmana

yat karoi yad ansi

yaj juhoi dadsi yatyat tapasyasi kaunteyatat kuruva mad arpaam

If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, aflower, fruit or water, I will accept it. O son of Kunt, allthat you do, all that you eat, all that you offer and giveaway, as well as all austerities that you perform, should

be done as an offering unto Me. (Bg. 9.2627)

In addition to giving and receiving, in the executionof devotional service one has to submit to Ka whatever distress or confidential problem he has. Heshould say, Ka, I am suffering in this way. I havefallen in this tossing ocean of material illusion. Kindlypick me up. I understand now that am simply put here,as if thrown into the Atlantic Ocean. I may not in any

way identify with the Atlantic Ocean, but I am subjectto the tossing of the ocean. Actually I am a spiritualspark, a fragmental part of You. To our misfortune,

we try to identify with this ocean and stop its tossing.We must not try to stop the tossing. It is not possible.In any case, the tossing will go on, for that is the law ofnature. Only the foolish try to adjust to this world; thereal problem is how to get out of it. Those who doattempt to adjust and who never turn to Ka arecontinually subject to transmigration in the ocean of

birth and death.

araddadhn puru

dharmasysya parantapaaprpya m nivartantemtyu-sasra-vartmani

Those who are not faithful on the path of devotionalservice cannot attain Me, O conqueror of foes, butreturn to birth and death in this material world.


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(Bg. 9.3)

By definition, religion is that which connects us withGod. If it is not capable of connecting us with God, it isno religion. Religion means searching for God,understanding God and establishing a relationship

with God. This is religion. Those who are engaged indevotional service are acting for Ka or God, andsince in this way there is connection with God, Kaconsciousness is a religion.

It is not possible to manufacture a religion. A truereligion must come from an authorized source, andthat source is either God or His representative.Religion has been called the law of God. It is notpossible for a person to manufacture a State law. Thelaw is there, and it is given by the State. One maycreate some bylaws for his own society, but these lawsmust be sanctioned by the law of the State. Similarly, if

we wish to make some principle of religion, it must besanctioned by the Vedic authority.

Bhagavad-gt is also religion. Great authoritieslike Rmnujcrya, Madhvcrya, Viusvm, LordCaitanya, akarcrya, and so many others haveacceptedBhagavad-gt as the supreme principle ofreligion and Ka as the Supreme Personality ofGodhead. There is no doubt about it. In the WestalsoBhagavad-gt is accepted as a great book ofphilosophy, and many great scholars and philosophersin the West have read it and commented upon it.Despite acceptance by the scholars and cryas, thereare persons who do not acceptBhagavad-gt and whohave no faith. They do not accept it at all as authority,for they think that it is some sentimental exaggeration

by a man known as Ka. Thus Ka states in the

above quoted verse that those who reject Bhagavad-gt as authority cannot have any connection withHim, and because they have no relation to Him, theyremain in the cycle of birth and death.Aprpya mnivartante mtyu-sasra-vartmani. Beingsubjected to sasra, the cycle of birth and death,does not guarantee that one will necessarily get a


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similar facility for understanding Bhagavad-gt in thenext life. One may not necessarily be born again as ahuman being, or in America, or in India, or even onthis planet. There is no certainty; it all depends on our

work. On the path of birth and death we take our birth,remain for some time, enjoy or suffer, then again give

up this body and enter into the womb of a mother,either human being or animal, then prepare another

body to come out and begin our work again. This iscalled mtyu-sasra-vartmani. If one wants toavoid this path, he must take to Ka consciousness.

When Yudhihira Mahrja was asked, What isthe most wonderful thing in the world? he replied,The most wonderful thing is that every day, everymoment, people are dying, and yet everyone thinks

that death will not come for him. Every minute andevery second we experience that living entities aregoing to the temple of death. Men, insects, animals,

birdseveryone is going. This world, therefore, iscalled mtyulokathe planet of death. Every daythere are obituaries, and if we bother to go to thecemetery or crematorium grounds we can validatethem. Yet everyone is thinking, Somehow or other Illlive. Everyone is subject to the law of death, yet noone takes it seriously. This is illusion. Thinking we willlive forever, we go on doing whatever we like, feelingthat we will never be held responsible. This is a veryrisky life, and it is the densest part of illusion. Weshould become very serious and understand that deathis waiting. We have heard the expression, as sure asdeath. This means that in this world death is the mostcertain thing; no one can avoid it. When death comes,no longer will our puffed-up philosophy or advanceddegrees help us. At that time our stout and strong body

and our intelligencewhich dont care for anythingare vanquished. At that time the fragmental portion(jvtm) comes under the dictation of materialnature, andprakti(nature) gives us the type of bodyfor which we are fit. If we want to take this risk, we canavoid Ka; if we dont want to take it, Ka willcome to help us.


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Chapter ThreeKnowledge of Kas Energies

It may be noted at this point that the Ninth Chapter ofBhagavad-gt isespecially meant for those who have already accepted r Ka as theSupreme Personality of Godhead. In other words, it is meant for His


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devotees. If one does not accept r Ka as the Supreme, this NinthChapter will appear as something different from what it actually is. Asstated in the beginning, the subject matter of the Ninth Chapter is the mostconfidential material in the entireBhagavad-gt. If one doesnt acceptKa as the Supreme, he will think the chapter to be a mereexaggeration. This is especially the case with the verses dealing with

Kas relationship with His creation.may tatam ida sarvajagad avyakta-mrtin

mat-sthni sarva-bhtnina cha tev avasthita

By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. Allbeings are in Me, but I am not in them. (Bg. 9.4)

The world which we see is also Kas energy,

His my. Here, may means by Me, as if one says, This work has beendone by me. This by Me does not mean that He has done His work andhas finished or retired. If I start a large factory and I say, This factory wasstarted by me, in no case should it be concluded that I am lost or in any

way not present. Although a manufacturer may refer to his products asbeing manufactured by me, it does not mean that he personally createdor constructed his product, but that the product was produced by hisenergy. Similarly, if Ka says, Whatever you see in the world wascreated by Me, we are not to suppose that He is no longer existing.

It is not very difficult to see God everywhere in the creation, for He iseverywhere present. Just as in the Ford factory the workers see Mr. Ford inevery corner, those who are conversant with the science of Ka can seeHim in every atom of the creation. Everything is resting on Ka (mat-sthni sarva bhtni), but Ka is not there (na cha tevavasthita). Ka and His energy are non-different, yet the energy isnot Ka. The sun and the sunshine are not different, but the sunshineis not the sun. The sunshine may come through our window and enter ourroom, but this is not to say that the sun is in our room. The Viu

Pur

a states: parasya brhma

a

akti

: parasya meanssupreme, brhmaameans Absolute Truth, and aktimeans energy.The energy of the Supreme Absolute is everything, but in that energyKa is not to be found.

There are two kinds of energymaterial and spiritual. Jvas, orindividual souls, belong to the superior energy of Ka, but becausethey are prone to be attracted to the material energy, they are called


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marginal energy. But actually there are only two energies. All of theplanetary systems and universes are resting on the energies of Ka.Just as all the planets in the solar system are resting in the sunshine,everything within the creation is resting on Ka-shine. All of thesepotencies of the Lord give pleasure to a devotee, but one who is envious ofKa rejects them. When one is a nondevotee, the statements of

Ka seem to be so much bluff, but when one is a devotee, he thinks,Oh, my Lord is so powerful, and he becomes filled with love andadoration. Nondevotees think that because Ka says, I am God, theyand everyone else can say the same. But if asked to show their universalform, they cannot do it. That is the difference between a pseudo god andthe real God. Kas pastimes cannot be imitated. Ka married over16,000 wives and kept them nicely in 16,000 palaces, but an ordinary mancannot even keep one wife nicely. It is not that Ka just spoke so many

wonderful things; He also acted wonderfully. We should not believe one

thing that K

a says or does and reject another; if belief is there, it mustbe full belief.

In this regard, there is a story of Nrada Muni, who was once asked bya brhmaa: Oh, you are going to meet the Lord? Will you please askHim when Im going to get my salvation?

All right, Nrada agreed. I shall ask Him.

As Nrada proceeded, he met a cobbler who was sitting under a treemending shoes, and the cobbler similarly asked Nrada, Oh, you are goingto see God? Will you please inquire of Him when my salvation will come?

When Nrada Muni went to the Vaikuha planets, he fulfilled theirrequest and asked Nryaa (God) about the salvation ofthebrhmaa and the cobbler, and Nryaa replied, After leaving this

body, the cobbler shall come here to me.

What about the brhmaa? Nrada asked.

He will have to remain there for a number of births. I do not knowwhen he is coming.

Nrada Muni was astonished, and he finally said, I cant understandthe mystery of this.

That you will see, Nryaa said. When they ask you what I amdoing in My abode, tell them that I am threading the eye of a needle withan elephant.

When Nrada returned to earth and approached


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the brhmaa, the brhmaa said, Oh, you have seen the Lord? What

was He doing?

He was threading an elephant through the eye of a needle, Nradaanswered.

I dont believe such nonsense, the brhmaa replied. Nrada could

immediately understand that the man had no faith and that he was simplya reader of books.

Nrada then left and went on to the cobbler, who asked him, Oh, youhave seen the Lord? Tell me, what was He doing?

He was threading an elephant through the eye of a needle, Nradareplied.

The cobbler began to weep, Oh, my Lord is so wonderful, He can doanything.

Do you really believe that the Lord can push an elephant through thehole of a needle? Nrada asked.

Why not? the cobbler said, Of course I believe it.

How is that?

You can see that I am sitting under this banyan tree, the cobbleranswered, and you can see that so many fruits are falling daily, and ineach seed there is a banyan tree like this one. If, within a small seed therecan be a big tree like this, is it difficult to accept that the Lord is pushing an

elephant through the eye of a needle?So this is called faith. It is not a question of blindly believing. There is

reason behind the belief. If Ka can put a large tree within so manylittle seeds, is it so astounding that He is keeping all the planetary systemsfloating in space through His energy?

Although scientists may think that the planets are being held in spacesimply by nature alone, behind nature there is the Supreme Lord. Nature isacting under His guidance. As r Ka states:

maydhyakea praktisyate sa-carcaramhetunnena kaunteyajagad viparivartate

This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kunt, and isproducing all moving and unmoving beings. By its rule this manifestation


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is being created and annihilated again and again. (Bg. 9.10)

Maydhyakena means under My supervision. Material naturecannot act so wonderfully unless the Lords hand is behind it. We cannotgive any example of material things automatically working. Matter is inert,and without the spiritual touch there is no possibility of its acting. Matter

cannot act independently or automatically. Machines may be verywonderfully constructed, but unless a man touches that machine, it cannot work. And what is that man? He is a spiritual spark. Without spiritualtouch, nothing can move; therefore everything is resting on Kasimpersonal energy. Kas energy is impersonal, but He is a person. Weoften hear of persons performing wonderful actions, yet despite theirenergetic accomplishments, they still remain persons. If this is possible forhuman beings, why isnt it possible for the Supreme Lord? We are allpersons, but we are all dependent upon Ka, the Supreme Person.

We have often seen pictures of Atlas, a stout man bearing a large planeton his shoulders and struggling very hard to hold it up. We may think that

because Ka is maintaining the universe, He is struggling under itsburden like Atlas. But this is not the case.

na ca mat-sthni bhtnipaya me yogam aivaram

bhta-bhn na ca bhta-sthomamtm bhta-bhvana

And yet everything that is created does not rest in Me. Behold My mystic

opulence. Although I am the maintainer of all living entities and although Iam everywhere, still My Self is the very source of creation. (Bg. 9.5)

Although all beings in the universe are resting in Kas energy, stillthey are not in Him. Ka is maintaining all living entities, and Hisenergy is all-pervading, yet He is elsewhere. This is Kas inconceivablemystic power. He is everywhere, yet He is aloof from everything. We canperceive his energy, but we cannot see Him because He cannot be seen

with material eyes. However, when we develop our spiritual qualities, wesanctify our senses so that even within this energy we can see Him.

Electricity, for instance, is everywhere, and an electrician is capable ofutilizing it. Similarly, the energy of the Supreme Lord is everywhere, and

when we become transcendentally situated, we can see God eye to eyeeverywhere. That spiritualization of the senses is possible throughdevotional service and love of God. The Lord is all-pervading all over theuniverse and is within the soul, the heart, water, aireverywhere. Thus if

we make an image of God in anythingclay, stone, wood or whateverit


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should not be considered to be just a doll. That also is God. If we havesufficient devotion, the image will also speak to us. God is everywhereimpersonally (may tatam ida sarvam), but if we make His personalform from anything, or if we create an image of God within ourselves, He

will be present personally for us. In the stras, there are eight kinds ofimages recommended, and any kind of image can be worshiped because

God is everywhere. One may protest and ask, Why should God beworshiped in images and not in His original spiritual form? The answer isthat we cannot see God immediately in His spiritual form. With ourmaterial eyes we can only see stone, earth, woodsomething tangible.Therefore Ka comes as arc-vigraha, a form conveniently presented

by the Supreme Lord in order for us to see Him. The result is that if weconcentrate upon the image and make offerings with love and devotion,Ka will respond through the image.

There are many instances of this happening. In India, there is one

temple called Ski-Gopla (Ka is often called Gopla). TheGoplamrtior statue was at one time located in a temple in Vndvana.Once two brhmaas, one old and one young, went to visit Vndvana ona pilgrimage. It was a long trip, and in those days there were no railways,so travelers underwent many hardships. The old man was much obliged tothe youth for helping him on the journey, and upon arriving in

Vndvana, he said to him: My dear boy, you have rendered me so muchservice, and I am much obliged to you. I would like very much to returnthat service and give you some reward.

My dear sir,the youth said, you are an old man just like my father. Itis my duty to serve you. I dont require any reward.

No, Im obliged to you, and I must reward you, the old man insisted.He then promised to give the young man his young daughter in marriage.

The old man was a very rich man, and the youth, although alearned brhmaa, was very poor. Considering this, the youth said, Dontpromise this, for your family will never agree. I am such a poor man, and

you are aristocratic, so this marriage will not take place. Dont promise thisway before the Deity.

The conversation was taking place in the temple before the Deity ofGopla Ka, and the young man was anxious not to offend the Deity.However, despite the youths pleas, the old man insisted on the marriage.

After staying in Vndvana for some time, they finally returned home, andthe old man informed his eldest son that his young sister was to be marriedto the poor brhmaa youth. The eldest son became very angry. Oh, how


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have you selected that pauper as husband for my sister? This cannot be.

The old mans wife also came to him and said, If you marry ourdaughter to that boy, I shall commit suicide.

The old man was thus perplexed. After some time, the brhmaa youthbecame very anxious. He has promised to marry his daughter to me, and

he made that promise before the Deity. Now he is not coming to fulfill it.He then went to see the old man to remind him of his promise.

You promised before Lord Ka, the youth said, and you are notfulfilling that promise. How is that?

The old man was silent. He began praying to Ka, for he wasperplexed. He didnt want to marry his daughter to the youth and causesuch great trouble within his family. In the meantime the elder son cameout and began to accuse the brhmaa youth. You have plundered myfather in the place of pilgrimage. You gave him some intoxicant and tookall his money, and now you are saying that he has promised to offer you my

youngest sister. You rascal!

In this way there was much noise, and people began to gather. The youth could understand that the old man was still agreeable but that thefamily was making it difficult for him. People began to gather about

because of the noise which the elder son was raising, andthebrhmaa youth began to exclaim to them that the old man made thispromise before the Deities but that he could not fulfill it because the family

was objecting. The eldest son, who was an atheist, suddenly interrupted

the youth and said, You say that the Lord was witnessing. Well, if Hecomes and bears witness to this promise of my fathers, you can have mysister in marriage.

The youth replied, Yes, I shall ask Ka to come as a witness. Hewas confident that God would come. An agreement was then made beforeeveryone that the girl would be given in marriage if Ka came from

Vndvana as a witness to the old mans promise.

The brhmaa youth returned to Vndvana and began to pray to

Gopla K

a. Dear Lord, You must come with me. He was such astaunch devotee that he spoke to Ka just as one would speak to afriend. He was not thinking that the Gopla was a mere statue or image,

but he considered Him to be God Himself. Suddenly the Deity spoke tohim:

How do you think that I can go with you? I am a statue. I cant goanywhere.


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Well, if a statue can speak, he can also walk, the boy replied.

All right then, the Deity said finally. I shall go with you, but on onecondition. In no case shall you look back to see Me. I will follow you, and

you will know that I am following by the jingle of My leg bangles.

The youth agreed, and in this way they left Vndvana to go to the

other town. When the trip was nearly over, just as they were about to enterhis home village, the youth could no longer hear the sound of the bangles,and he began to fear. Oh, where is Ka? Unable to contain himselfany longer, he looked back. He saw the statue standing still. Because helooked back, it would go no further. He immediately ran into the town andtold the people to come out and see Ka who had come as a witness.Everyone was astounded that such a large statue had come from such adistance, and they built a temple on the spot in honor of the Deity, andtoday people are still worshiping Ski-Gopla, the Lord as a witness.

We should therefore conclude that because God is everywhere, He isalso in His statue, in the image made of Him. If Ka is everywhere, aseven the impersonalists admit, then why isnt He in His image? Whetheran image or statue speaks to us or not is dependent on the degree of ourdevotion. But if we choose to see the image merely as a piece of wood orstone, Ka will always remain wood or stone for us. Ka iseverywhere, but as we advance in spiritual consciousness we can begin tosee Him as He is. If we put a letter into a mailbox, it will go to itsdestination because the mailbox is authorized. Similarly, if we worship anauthorized image of God, our faith will have some effect. If we are preparedto follow the various rules and regulationsthat is to say, if we becomequalifiedit is possible to see God anywhere and everywhere. When adevotee is present, Ka, by His omnipresent energies, will manifestHimself anywhere and everywhere, but when His devotee is not there, He

will not do this. There are many instances of this. Prahlda Mahrja sawKa in a pillar. There are many other examples. Ka is there; allthat is required is our qualification to see Him.

Ka Himself gives an example of His omnipresence in this way:.

yathka sthito nitya

vyu sarvatra-go mahntath sarvi bhtni

mat-sthnty upadhraya

As the mighty wind, blowing everywhere, always rests in ethereal space,know that in the same manner all beings rest in Me. (Bg. 9.6)


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Everyone knows that the wind blows within space, and on earth it is

blowing everywhere. There is no place where there is no air or wind. If we wish to drive out air, we have to create a vacuum artificially by somemachine. Just as the air is blowing everywhere in space, so everything isexisting within Ka. If this is the case, when the material creation isdissolved, where does it go?

sarva-bhtni kaunteyaprakti ynti mmikm

kalpa-kaye punas tnikalpdau visjmy aham

O son of Kunt, at the end of the millennium every material manifestationenters into My nature, and at the beginning of another millennium, by Mypotency I again create. (Bg. 9.7)

Ka sets His nature (prakti) into motion, as one may wind up a

clock, and when nature unwinds, it is absorbed into the Lord. The spiritualcreation, however, is not like this, for it is permanent. In the materialcreation everything is temporary. Just as our bodies are developing due tothe spiritual spark that is within, the whole creation is coming into being,developing and passing out of being, due to the spirit of the Lord which is

within it. Just as our spirit is present within the body, the Lord is presentwithin the universe as Paramtm. Due to the presence of KrodakayViu, the material creation exists, just as due to our presence our bodiesare existing. Sometimes Ka manifests the material creation, and

sometimes He does not. In all cases, its existence is due to His presence.

Chapter Four

Knowledge by Way of the Mahtms, GreatSouls

The presence of Ka in all aspects of the creation is perceived by themahtms, the great souls, who are always engaged in theworship of Ka. As Ka Himself states, these great souls are


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conversant with the confidential knowledge found in the NinthChapter ofBhagavad-gt, and they know Ka to be the sourceof all things.

mahtmnas tu m prthadaiv praktim rit

bhajanty ananya-manasojtv bhtdim avyayam

O son of Pth, those who are not deluded, the great souls, areunder the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged indevotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personalityof Godhead, original and inexhaustible. (Bg. 9.13)

The great soul knows without a doubt that Ka is theSupreme Personality of Godhead and that He is the origin of allemanations. TheVednta-stra states, athto brahmaijs: Human life is meant for inquiring about Brahman. At

present we are all engaged in studying temporary, small things.Brahman means the greatest, but instead of concerning ourselves

with the greatest, we have become enmeshed in trying to solve theanimal problems of eating, sleeping, defending and mating. Thesesmall problems are automatically solved. Even the animals areenjoying mating, sleeping, eating and defending. The arrangementsare all provided. These demands of the body are not really problems,

but we have made them into problems. TheVednta-stra enjoins

us not to concern ourselves with these problems, for they aresatisfied in any form of life. Our problem is to inquire about thesource of all these manifestations. The human form of life is notmeant for struggling hard to solve the material problems which evena hog, a stool-eater, can solve. The hog is considered to be the lowestamong animals, yet he has eating facility, mating facility, sleepingfacility, and facilities for defense. Even if we dont strive for thesethings, we will have them. Man is meant, rather, to find out thesource from which all these things are coming. The Vednta-stra states that Brahman is that from which everything is

emanating ( janmdy asya yata [SB1.1.1]). Philosophers,scientists, yogs, jns and transcendentalists are all trying to findout the ultimate source of everything. This source is giveninBrahma-sahit, sarva-kraa-kraam:[Bs. 5.1] Ka isthe cause of all causes.

Understanding Ka to be the primal source of everything,


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how do the great souls act? Ka Himself characterizes them inthis way:

satata krtayanto myatanta ca dha-vrat

namasyanta ca m bhakty

nitya-yukt upsateAlways chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination,

bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Mewith devotion. (Bg. 9.14)

That glorification is this process ofbhakti-yoga, the chanting ofHare Ka. The great souls, understanding the nature of God, Hisdescent and His mission, glorify Him in so many ways, but there areothers who do not accept Him. Ka also mentions them in theNinth Chapter:

avajnanti mmhmnu tanum ritampara bhvam ajnantomama bhta-mahevaram

Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do notknow My transcendental nature and my supreme dominion over allthat be. (Bg. 9.11)

The mhas, or foolish men, who are lower than the animals,deride Him. Any person who doesnt believe in God must either be amadman or fool number one. There is no reason not to believe inGod, and there is every reason to believe in Him. Man may say thathe doesnt believe in God, but who gives him the power to say this?

When death comes, this speaking power ceasesso who is giving thepower of speech? Has the speaking power come automatically fromstone? As soon as the speaking power is withdrawn by the Supreme

Authority, the body is no better than stone. The very power of speechis proof that there is a Supreme Power who is giving us everything. A

Ka conscious person knows that whatever he has is not underhis control. If we do not believe in God, we must believe in somepower beyond us which is controlling us at every step, call thatpower God or nature or whatever. There is a controlling power in theuniverse, and no sane man can deny it.

Ka was present on this earth and appeared just like a human being with supernatural power. At that time, however, ninety-nine


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percent of the people could not recognize Him as God. They couldnot recognize Him because they had no eyes to see (para bhvamajnanta). How is it possible to recognize God? He can berecognized through supernatural power, by the evidence ofauthorities, and by scriptural evidence. As far as Ka isconcerned, every Vedic authority has accepted Him as God. When

He was present on earth, His activities displayed were superhuman.If one does not believe this, it is to be concluded that he will not

believe whatever evidence is given.

One must also have the eyes to see God. God cannot be seen bymaterial senses, therefore the bhakti-yoga process is the process ofpurifying the senses so that we will be able to understand what and

who God is. We have power of seeing, hearing, touching, tasting andso on, but if these senses are blunt, we cannot understand God. Theprocess of Ka consciousness is the process of training these

senses through regulated principles, specifically through thechanting of Hare Ka.

r Ka further characterizes the mhas:

mogh mogha-karmomogha-jn vicetasarkasm sur caiva

praktimohin rit

Those who are thus bewildered are attracted by demonic and

atheistic views. In that deluded condition, their hopes for liberation,their fruitive activities, and their culture of knowledge are alldefeated. (Bg. 9.12)

The word mogh indicates that the aspirations of the atheists will be baffled. Thekarms, or fruitive laborers, are always hopingfor something better to gratify their senses. There is no limit to

where they will stop. They are trying to increase their bank balanceand are hoping to be happy at a certain point, but that point nevercomes because they do not know the ultimate point of satiation.

Those who are enamored by the attractions of illusory energy cannotunderstand the ultimate aim of life. The word mogha-karma indicates that they are laboring very hard but that in theend they will only meet with frustration. Unless we are established inKa consciousness, all of our activities will be baffled at the end.

This is not the verdict of an ordinary man, but of r KaHimself. If we are searching for knowledge, we should conduct


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research to find out whether Ka is notGod. Without anyobjective, what is the point of thousands of years of speculation? TheSupreme Lord is so vast that one cannot reach Him by mentalspeculation. If we travel at the speed of mind and wind for millionsof years, it is not possible to reach the Supreme by speculation.There is not one single instance in which one has arrived at the

Supreme Absolute Truth by means of his own mental speculation.Therefore the word mogha-jn indicates that the process ofmundane knowledge is bewildering. Through our own endeavor it isnot possible to see the sun after it has set. We have to wait until thesun reveals itself in the morning at sunrise. If it is not possible withour limited senses to perceive a material thing like the sun, how is itpossible to perceive the nonmaterial? We cannot find out orunderstand Ka by our own endeavor. We have to qualifyourselves through Ka consciousness and wait for Him to reveal

Himself.te satata-yuktn

bhajat prti-prvakamdadmi buddhi-yoga ta

yena mm upaynti te

To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, Igive the understanding by which they can come to Me. (Bg. 10.10)

Ka is within, but due to our material conditioning, we do not

realize it. Those who are of the nature of fiends and demons(rkasm surm) think that this material life is all and that it isthe purpose of human life to squeeze out as much pleasure frommatter as possible. They try squeezing, but they are constantly

baffled. Squeezing material nature is not the process for finding outreal pleasure. If we are searching for real pleasure, we have to take toKa consciousness. All happiness in the material world has a

beginning and an end, but happiness in Ka is unlimited, andthere is no end. In order to get this happiness we simply have tosacrifice a little time and chant Hare Ka. In former ages, the

great sages and demigods used to sacrifice their whole lives forrealizing the Supreme, and still they would not attain success. Forthis age Caitanya Mahprabhu has given an easy process for Godrealization. All that is necessary is careful listening. We have to listentoBhagavad-gt, and we have to chant the names of Ka andlisten to them carefully. We should not be puffed up, falsely thinkingthat our knowledge is great or that we are very learned. We need


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only become a little gentle and submissive to hear the messages fromKa.

At present, this world is being managed bythe rkasas. The rkasas are man-eaters who eat their own sonsfor the satisfaction of their senses. Now great regimes have been

created to smash so many people for the satisfaction ofthe rkasas senses, but they do not realize that their senses willnever be satisfied in this way. Nonetheless, the rkasas areprepared to sacrifice everything to satisfy their whimsical desires. Itis very difficult for them to understand the real situation becausethey are overly enamored with material civilization. Who then canunderstand? Those who are mahtms, whose hearts have becomemagnified, understand that everything belongs to God, and I also

belong to God.

Such mahtms are not under the control of material nature(mahtmnas tu m prtha daiv praktim rit [Bg. 9.13]).God is great and the mahtms heart also becomes great by servingthe great.Mahtm is not a stamp for a political leader. One cannot

be stampedmahtm by votes. The standard for mahtm is giveninBhagavad-gt: the mahtm is he who has taken shelter of thesuperior energy of the Lord. Of course all energies are His, and Hedoes not make distinctions between spiritual energy and materialenergy, but for the conditioned soul who is situated marginally

between material energy and spiritual energy, there is a distinction.

The mahtmssee this distinction and so take shelter under thespiritual energy (daiv praktim).

By serving the great, the mahtms also become great throughidentifying with the superior energy: (aha brahmsmi) I amBrahmanspirit. It is not that they become puffed up and thinkthat they are God. Rather, if one becomes Brahman, he must showhis activities in Brahman. Spirit is active, and to become Brahman isnot to become inactive. Brahman is spirit, and these material bodiesare active only because Brahman is within them. If we are active

despite our contact with material nature, do we cease to be active when we purify ourselves of the material contamination andestablish ourselves in our proper identity as pure Brahman?Realizing I am Brahman means engagement in spiritual activity

because we are spirit, and our activities are exhibited even thoughwe are contaminated by matter. To become Brahman does not meanto become void but to establish ourselves in the superior nature,


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which means superior energy and superior activities. To becomeBrahman means to be completely engaged in rendering devotionalservice to the Lord. Thus the mahtmunderstands that if service isto be rendered, it is to be to Ka and no one else. We have solong served our senses; now we should serve Ka.

There is no question of stopping service, for we are meant forservice. Is there anyone who does not serve? If we ask the President,Who are you serving? he will tell us that he is serving the country.No one is devoid of service. Service we cannot stop, but we do haveto redirect our service from the illusion to the reality. When this isdone, we become mahtm.

This process ofkrtana (krtayanta), always chanting theglories of the Lord, is the beginning ofmahtm. That process issimplified by Lord Caitanya Mahprabhu who imparted to mankindthis chanting of Hare Ka, Hare Ka, Ka Ka, HareHare/ Hare Rma, Hare Rma, Rma Rma, Hare Hare. There arenine different processes of devotional service, of which ravaakrtanam, hearing and chanting, are the mostimportant. Krtanam actually means describing. We can describe

with music, words, pictures, etc.ravaamgoes hand in handwith krtanam, for unless we hear, we cannot describe. We dontneed any material qualifications in order to attain the Supreme. All

we have to do is hear from authoritative sources and repeataccurately what we hear.

Formerly, the Vedas were heard by the student from the spiritualmaster, and thus the Vedas became known as ruti, meaning that

which is heard. InBhagavad-gt, for example, we see that Arjunais listening to Ka on the battlefield. He is not engaged in thestudy ofVednta philosophy. We can hear from the Supreme

Authority in any place, even in the battlefield. The knowledge isreceived, not manufactured. Some people think, Why should I listento Him? I can think for myself. I can manufacture something new.This is not the Vedic process of descending knowledge. By ascending

knowledge, one tries to elevate himself by his own effort, but bydescending knowledge one receives the knowledge from a superiorsource. In the Vedic tradition, knowledge is imparted to the studentfrom the spiritual master, as in Bhagavad-gt (eva parampar-

prptam ima rjarayo vidu [Bg. 4.2]). Submissive hearing isso powerful that simply by hearing from authoritative sources wecan become completely perfect. In becoming submissive, we become


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aware of our own imperfections. As long as we are conditioned, weare subject to four kinds of imperfections: we are sure to commitmistakes, to become illusioned, to have imperfect senses and tocheat. Therefore our attempt to understand the Absolute Truth byour faulty senses and experience is futile. We must hear from arepresentative of Ka who is a devotee of Kas. Ka

made Arjuna His representative because Arjuna was Hisdevotee: bhakto si me sakh ceti. (Bg. 4.3)

No one can become a representative of God without being adevotee of Gods. One who thinks, I am God, cannot be arepresentative. Because we are part and parcel of God, our qualitiesare the same as His, and therefore if we study these qualities inourselves, we come to learn something of God. This does not meanthat we understand the quantity of God. This self-realization processis one way of understanding God, but in no case can we preach, I

am God. We cannot claim to be God without being able to displaythe powers of God. As far as Ka is concerned, He proved thatHe was God by displaying so much power and by revealing Hisuniversal form to Arjuna. Ka showed this awesome form inorder to discourage people who would claim to be God. We shouldnot be fooled by one who claims to be God; following in the footstepsof Arjuna, we should request to see the universal form beforeaccepting anyone as God. Only a fool would accept another fool asGod.

No one can be equal to God, and no one can be above Him. EvenLord Brahm and iva, the most exalted demigods, are subservientto Him and pay their respectful obeisances. Instead of trying to

become God by some meditational process or other, we had betterhear about God submissively and try to understand Him and ourrelationship to Him. The representative of God or the incarnation ofGod never claims to be God but the servant of God. This is the signof the bona fide representative.


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Whatever we learn of God from authoritative sources can be

described, and that will help us make spiritual progress. Thisdescription is called krtana. If we try to repeat what we hear, we

become established in knowledge. By the process ofravaakrtanam, hearing and chanting, we can become free from materialconditioning and attain to the kingdom of God. In this age it is

impossible to practice sacrifice, speculation or yoga. There is no wayopen to us but the way of hearing submissively from authoritativesources. This is the way themahtms received the most confidentialknowledge. It is the way Arjuna received it from Ka, and it isthe way we must receive it from the disciplic succession stemmingfrom Arjuna.


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Chapter Five

Parampar: Knowledge Through DisciplicSuccession

r bhagavn uvcaima vivasvate yoga

proktavn aham avyayamvivasvn manave prhamanur ikvkave bravt

The Blessed Lord said: I instructed this imperishable science ofyoga tothe sun-god, Vivasvn, and Vivasvn instructed it to Manu, the father ofmankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikvku. (Bg. 4.1)

Many ages ago Ka imparted the divine knowledge ofBhagavad-gt to Vivasvn, the god of the sun. To the best of our knowledge, the sunis a very hot place, and we do not consider it possible for anyone to livethere. It is not even possible to approach the sun very closely with these

bodies. However, from the Vedic literatures we can understand that thesun is a planet just like this one but that everything there is composed offire. Just as this planet is predominately composed of earth, there areother planets which are predominately composed of fire, water and air.

The living entities on these various planets acquire bodies composed of

elements in accordance with the predominating element on the planet;therefore those beings who live on the sun have bodies which arecomposed of fire. Of all beings on the sun, the principal personality is agod by the name of Vivasvn. He is known as the sun-god (srya-nryaa). On all planets there are principal personalities, just as in theUnited States the chief person is the President. From the history calledtheMahbhrata we understand that formerly there was only one king onthis planet by the name of Mahrja Bharata. He ruled some 5,000 yearsago, and the planet was named after him. Subsequently the earth has

become divided into so many different countries. In this way there isusually one and sometimes many controllers of the various planets in theuniverse.

From this first verse of the Fourth Chapter we learn that millions ofyears ago r Ka imparted the knowledge ofkarma-yoga to the sun-god Vivasvn, r Ka, who imparts the teachings ofBhagavad-gt to

Arjuna, here indicates that these teachings are not at all new but were


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enunciated many ages ago on a different planet. Vivasvn, in his turn,repeated these teachings to his son, Manu. In turn, Manu imparted theknowledge to his disciple Ik vku. Mahrja Ik vku was a great kingand forefather of Lord Rmacandra. The point being made here is that ifone wants to learnBhagavad-gt and profit by it, there is a process forunderstanding it, and that process is described here. It is not that Ka

is speaking Bhagavad-gt to Arjuna for the first time. It is estimated by Vedic authorities that the Lord imparted these divine instructions to Vivasvn some 400 million years ago. From theMahbhrata weunderstand thatBhagavad-gt was spoken to Arjuna some 5,000 yearsago. Before Arjuna, the teachings were handed down by disciplicsuccession, but over such a long period of time, the teachings became lost.

eva parampar-prptamima rjarayo vidu

sa kleneha mahat

yogo naa parantapa

sa evyamay te dyayoga prokta purtana

bhakto si me sakh cetirahasya hy etad uttamam

[Bg. 4.3]

This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplicsuccession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course

of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as it isappears to be lost. That very ancient science of the relationship with theSupreme is today told by Me to you because you are My devotee as well asMy friend; therefore you can understand the transcendental mystery ofthis science. (Bg. 4.23)

In Bhagavad-gt a number ofyoga systems are delineatedbhakti-yoga, karma-yoga, jna-yoga, haha-yogaand therefore it is herecalled yoga. The word yoga means to link up, and the idea is thatin yoga we link our consciousness to God. It is a means for reuniting with

God or re-establishing our relationship with Him. In the course of time,this yoga imparted by r Ka was lost. Why is this? Were there nolearned sages at the time r Ka was speaking to Arjuna? No, there

were many sages present at the time. By lost it is meant that the purportofBhagavad-gt was lost. Scholars may give their own interpretationofBhagavad-gt, analyzing it according to their own whims, but that isnotBhagavad-gt. This is the point that r Ka is stressing, and a


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student ofBhagavad-gt should note it. A person may be a very goodscholar from the material point of view, but that does not qualify him tocomment onBhagavad-gt.In order to understand Bhagavad-gt, wehave to accept the principle of disciplic succession (parampar). We mustenter into the spirit ofBhagavad-gt and not approach it simply from the

viewpoint of erudition.

Of all people, why did r Ka select Arjuna as a recipient of thisknowledge? Arjuna was not a great scholar at all, nor was hea yog,meditator or a holy man. He was a warrior about to engage in

battle. There were many great sages living at the time, and r Kacould have given Bhagavad-gt to them. The answer is that despite beingan ordinary man, Arjuna had one great qualification: bhakto si me sakhceti: You are My devotee and My friend. This was Arjunas exceptionalqualification, a qualification which the sages did not have. Arjuna knewthat Ka was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore he

surrendered himself unto Him, accepting Him as his spiritual master.Unless one is a devotee of Lord Kas, he cannot possiblyunderstandBhagavad-gt. If one wants to understandBhagavad-gt, hecannot take help from other methods. He must understand it asprescribed in Bhagavad-gt itself, by understanding it as Arjunaunderstood it. If we wish to understandBhagavad-gt in a different way,or give an individual interpretation, that may be an exhibition of ourscholarship, but it is not Bhagavad-gt.

By scholarship we may be able to manufacture some theory

ofBhagavad-gt, just as Mahtm Gandhi did when heinterpretedBhagavad-gt in an effort to support his theory ofnonviolence. How is it possible to prove nonviolence fromBhagavad-gt?The very theme ofBhagavad-gt involves Arjunas reluctance tofight and Kas inducing him to kill his opponents. In fact, Katells Arjuna that the battle had already been decided by the Supreme, thatthe people who were assembled on the battlefield were predestined neverto return. It was Kas program that the warriors were all destined todie, and Ka gave Arjuna the opportunity of taking the credit ofconquering them. If fighting is proclaimed a necessity inBhagavad-gt, how is it possible to prove nonviolence from it? Such interpretationsare attempts to distort Bhagavad-gt. As soon as the Gt is interpretedaccording to the motive of an individual, the purpose is lost. It is statedthat we cannot attain the conclusion of the Vedic literature by the force ofour own logic or argument. There are many things which do not come

within the jurisdiction of our sense of logic. As far as scriptures areconcerned, we find different scriptures describing the Absolute Truth in


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different ways. If we analyze all of them, there will be bewilderment. Thereare also many philosophers with different opinions, and theyre alwayscontradicting one another. If the truth cannot be understood by reading

various scriptures, by logical argument or philosophical theories, thenhow can it be attained? The fact is that the wisdom of the Absolute Truthis very confidential, but if we follow the authorities, it can be understood.

In India, there are disciplic successions coming from Rmnujcrya,Madhvcrya, Nimbrka, Viusvm and other great sages. The Vedicliteratures are understood through the superior spiritual masters. Arjunaunderstood Bhagavad-gt from Ka, and if we wish to understand it,

we have to understand it from Arjuna, not from any other source. If wehave any knowledge ofBhagavad-gt, we have to see how it tallies withthe understanding of Arjuna. If we understand Bhagavad-gt in the same

way that Arjuna did, we should know that our understanding is correct.This should be the criteria for our studying ofBhagavad-gt. If we

actually want to receive benefit fromBhagavad-gt, we have to follow thisprinciple. Bhagavad-gt is not an ordinary book of knowledge which wecan purchase from the market place, read and merely consult a dictionaryto understand. This is not possible. If it were, Ka would never havetold Arjuna that the science was lost.

It is not difficult to understand the necessity of going through thedisciplic succession to understandBhagavad-gt. If we wish to be alawyer, an engineer or doctor, we have to receive knowledge from theauthoritative lawyers, engineers and doctors. A new lawyer has to become

an apprentice of an experienced lawyer, or a young man studying to be adoctor has to become an intern and work with those who are alreadylicensed practitioners. Our knowledge of a subject cannot beperfectionalized unless we receive it through authoritative sources.

There are two processes for attaining knowledgeone is inductive andthe other is deductive. The deductive method is considered to be moreperfect. We may take a premise such as, All men are mortal, and no oneneed discuss how man is mortal. It is generally accepted that this is thecase. The deductive conclusion is: Mr. Johnson is a man; therefore Mr.J

ohnson is mortal. But how is the premise that all men are mortal arrivedat? Followers of the inductive method wish to arrive at this premisethrough experiment and observations. We may thus study that this mandied and that man died, etc., and after seeing that so many men have died

we may conclude or generalize that all men are mortal, but there is amajor defect in this inductive method, and that is that our experience islimited. We may never have seen a man who is not mortal, but we are


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judging this on our personal experience, which is finite. Our senses havelimited power, and there are so many defects in our conditional state. Theinductive process consequently is not always perfect, whereas thedeductive process from a source of perfect knowledge is perfect. The Vedicprocess is such a process.

Although the authority is acknowledged, there are many passagesinBhagavad-gt which appear to be dogmatic. For instance, in theSeventh Chapter r Ka says:

matta paratara nnyatkicid asti dhanajaya

mayi sarvam ida protastre mai-ga iva

O conqueror of wealth (Arjuna), there is no Truth superior to Me.Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread. (Bg. 7.7)

r Ka is saying that there is no authority greater than Him, andthis appears to be very dogmatic. If I say, There is no one greater thanme, people would think, Oh, Swmj is very proud. If a man who isconditioned by so many imperfections says that he is the greatest of all, he

blasphemes. But Ka can say this, for we can understand from thehistories that even while He was on this earth, He was considered thegreatest personality of His time. Indeed, He was the greatest in all fields ofactivity.

According to the Vedic system, knowledge which is achieved from thegreatest authority is to be considered perfect. According totheVedas, there are three kinds of proof:pratyaka,anumna and abda. One is by direct visual perception. If a person issitting in front of me, I can see him sitting there, and my knowledge of hissitting there is received through my eyes. The secondmethod, anumna, is auricular: we may hear children playing outside,and by hearing we can conjecture that they are there. And the thirdmethod is the method of taking truths from a higher authority. Such asaying as Man is mortal is accepted from higher authorities. Everyone

accepts this, but no one has experienced that all men are mortal. Bytradition, we have to accept this. If someone asks, Who found this truthfirst? Did you discover it? it is very difficult to say. All we can say is thatthe knowledge is coming down and that we accept it. Out of the threemethods of acquiring knowledge, the Vedas say that the third method,that of receiving knowledge from higher authorities, is the most perfect.Direct perception is always imperfect, especially in the conditional stage of


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life. By direct perception we can see that the sun is just like a disc, nolarger than the plate we eat on. From scientists, however, we come tounderstand that the sun is many thousands of times larger than the earth.So what are we to accept? Are we to accept the scientific proclamation, theproclamation of authorities, or our own experience? Although we cannotourselves prove how large the sun is, we accept the verdict of astronomers.

In this way we are accepting the statements of authorities in every field ofour activities. From newspapers and radio we also understand that suchand such events are taking place in China and India and other places allaround the earth. Were not experiencing these events directly, and wedont know that such events are actually taking place, but we accept theauthority of the newspapers and radio. We have no choice but to believeauthorities in order to get knowledge. And when the authority is perfect,our knowledge is perfect.

According to the Vedic sources, of all authorities Ka is the greatest

and most perfect (matta paratara nnyat kicid asti dhanajaya[Bg. 7.7]). Not only does Ka proclaim Himself to be the highestauthority, but this is also accepted by great sages and scholarsofBhagavad-gt. If we do not accept Ka as authority and take His

words as they are, we cannot derive any benefit fromBhagavad-gt. It isnot dogmatic; it is a fact. If we study scrutinizingly what Ka says, we

will find that it is right. Even scholars like akarcrya, who havedifferent opinions from the Personality of Godhead, admit that Kais svaya bhagavnKa is the Supreme Lord.

Vedic knowledge is not a recent discovery. It is all old revealedknowledge. Ka refers to it aspurtana, which means ancient.Ka says that millions of years before He spoke this yoga to the sun-god, and we do not know how many millions of years before that He spokeit to someone else. This knowledge is always being repeated, just assummer, autumn, winter and spring are repeated every year. Our fund ofknowledge is very poor; we do not even know the history of this planetmore than 5,000 years back, but the Vedic literatures give us historiesextending millions of years ago. Just because we have no knowledge of

what happened 3,000 years ago on this planet, we cannot conclude thatthere was no history then. Of course one can disclaim the historical

validity of Ka. One may say that Ka, accordingtoMahbhrata, lived 5,000 years ago, and this being the case, there is nopossibility of His having spoken Bhagavad-gt to the sun god so manymillions of years before. If I said that I gave a speech on the sun somemillions of years ago to the sun-god, people would say, Swmj isspeaking some nonsense. But this is not the case with Ka, for He is


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the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Whether we believe that Kaspoke Bhagavad-gt to the sun-god or not, this fact is being accepted by

Arjuna. Arjuna accepted Ka as the Supreme Lord, and therefore heknew that it was quite possible for Ka to have spoken to someonemillions of years before. Although Arjuna personally accepts thestatements of r Ka, in order to clarify the situation for people who

would come after him, he asks:apara bhavato janma

para janma vivasvatakatham etad vijny

tvam dau proktavn iti

The sun-god Vivasvn is senior by birth to You. How am I to understandthat in the beginning You instructed this science to him? (Bg.4.4)

Actually this is a very intelligent question, and Ka answers it inthis way:

bahni me vyattnijanmni tava crjuna

tny aha veda sarvina tva vettha parantapa

Many, many births both you and I have passed. I can remember all ofthem, but you cannot, O subduer of the enemy! (Bg. 4.5)

Although Ka is God, He incarnates many, many times. Arjuna,being a living entity, also takes his birth many, many times. The differencebetween the Supreme Personality of Godhead and a living entity is, tnyaha veda sarvi: Ka remembers the events of His pastincarnations, whereas the living entity cannot remember. That is one ofthe differences between God and man. God is eternal, and we are alsoeternal, but the difference is that we are always changing our bodies. Atdeath we forget the events of our lifetime; death means forgetfulness,thats all. At night, when we go to sleep, we forget that we are the husbandof such and such a wife and the father of such and such children. We

forget ourselves in sleep, but when we wake up, we remember, Oh, I amso and so, and I must do such and such. It is a fact that in our previouslives we had other bodies with other families, fathers, mothers and so onin other countries, but we have forgotten all of these. We might have beendogs or cats or men or godswhatever we were we have now forgotten.

Despite all these changes, as living entities, we are eternal. Just as inprevious lives we have prepared for this body, in this lifetime we are


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preparing for another body. We get our bodies according to our karma, oractivities. Those who are in the mode of goodness are promoted to higherplanets, in a higher status of life (Bg. 14.14). Those who die in the mode ofpassion remain on earth, and those who die in the mode of ignorance mayfall into the animal species of life or may be transferred to a lower planet(Bg. 14.15). This is the process that has been going on, but we forget it.

At one time, Indra, the king of heaven, committed an offense at the feetof his spiritual master, and his spiritual master cursed him to take the

birth of a hog. Thus the throne of the heavenly kingdom became empty asIndra went to earth to become a hog. Seeing the situation, Brahm cameto earth and addressed the hog: My dear sir, you have become a hog onthis planet earth. I have come to deliver you. Come with me at once. Butthe hog replied:. Oh I cannot go with you. I have so manyresponsibilitiesmy children, wife and this nice hog society. Even thoughBrahm promised to take him back to heaven, Indra, in the form of a hog,

refused. This is called forgetfulness. Similarly, Lord r Ka comes andsays to us, What are you doing in this material world? Sarva-dharmn parityajya mm eka araa vraja [Bg. 18.66]. Come to Me, and Illgive you all protection. But we say, I dont believe You Sir. I have moreimportant business here. This is the position of the conditioned soulforgetfulness. This forgetfulness is quickly dissipated by following in thepath of disciplic succession.

Chapter Six


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Knowledge of Kas Appearances and

Activities

There are two forces of nature working in us. By one we decidethat in this lifetime we will make spiritual advancement, but at thenext moment the other force, my, or illusory energy, says,What is all this trouble that youre going to? Just enjoy this lifeand be easy with yourself. This tendency to fall into forgetfulnessis the difference between God and man. Arjuna is a companionand associate of Kas, and whenever Ka appears on anyplanet, Arjuna also takes birth and appears with Him. WhenKa spokeBhagavad-gt to the sun god, Arjuna was alsopresent with Him. But, being a finite living entity, Arjuna couldnot remember. Forgetfulness is the nature of the living entity. Wecannot even remember what we were doing at this exact time

yesterday or a week ago. If we cannot remember this, how is itpossible to remember what happened in our previous lives? At thispoint we may ask how it is that Ka can remember and wecannot, and the answer is that Ka does not change His body.

ajo pi sann avyaytmbhtnm varo pi san

prakti svm adhihyasambhavmy tma-myay

Although I am unborn and My transcendental body neverdeteriorates, and although I am the Lord of all sentient beings, Istill appear in every millennium in My original transcendentalform. (Bg. 4.6)

The word tma-myay means that Ka descends as He is.He does not change His body, but we, as conditioned souls, changeours, and because of this we forget. Ka knows not only thepast, present and future of His activities, but the past, present andfuture of everyones activities.

vedha samattnivartamnni crjunabhaviyi ca bhtni

m tu veda na kacana

O Arjuna, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, I knoweverything that has happened in the past, all that is happening in


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the present, and all things that are yet to come. I also know allliving entities; but Me no one knows. (Bg. 7.26)

Inrmad-Bhgavatam we also find that the Supreme Lord isdefined as one who knows everything. This is not the case witheven the most elevated living entities, such as Brahm and iva.

Only Vi

u or K

a knows everything. We may also ask that ifthe Lord does not change His body, why does He come as anincarnation? There is much difference among philosophersconcerning this question. Some say that Ka assumes amaterial body when He comes, but this is not the case. If Heassumed a material body like ours, He could not remember, forforgetfulness is due to the material body. The actual conclusion isthat He doesnt change His body. God is called all-powerful, and inthe verse quoted above, His omnipotence is explained. Ka hasno birth, and He is eternal. Similarly, the living entity has no birth,

and he is also eternal. It is only the body with which the livingentity identifies that takes birth.

In the very beginning ofBhagavad-gt, in the Second Chapter,Ka explains that what we accept as birth and death is due tothe body, and as soon as we regain our spiritual body and get outof the contamination of birth and death, we should be qualitativelyas good as Ka. That is the whole process of Kaconsciousnessthe revival of our original sac-cid-nanda spiritual

body. That body is eternal (sat), full of knowledge (cit), and

blissful (nanda). This material body is neither sat,cit, nor nanda. It is perishable, whereas the person who isoccupying the body is imperishable. It is also full of ignorance, and

because i

Raj Vidya - Swami Prabhupaad

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